Are we deceiving ourselves?

Rothschild, Bertram. "Belief in Ghosts is Merely Self-Deception." Ghosts and Poltergeists: Fact or Fiction. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Greenhaven Press, 2003. 78-82. Print.




In "Belief in Ghosts is Merely Self-Deception" by Bertram Rothschild, Bertram confesses how he "almost" believed in ghosts. Rothschild is a clinical psychologist and a lifelong skeptic. He has always considered such things as supernatural powers and magic to be foolish. One evening, however, while laying in bed, Bertram's bedroom door opened. Thinking it was his wife at first, he was not very concerned. Soon after, he realized his wife was downstairs, making it impossible for her to open the door. When he could not immediately come up with a logical answer to how the door opened, he began to jump to the conclusion that it was a ghost. Over the next few days, he and his wife began hearing strange noises. While Bertram and his wife joked that it was "the ghost," he soon began to freak himself out. Then, he decided to reject the ghost idea all together and wondered how he could even consider such a thing. The noises he heard were simply moans and groans from the house, but, already scared, his mind started to convince him otherwise. As for the door opening, he came to the conclusion that he did not have to have an explanation just to prove it was not a ghost. Bertram realized that when he could not come up with a reasonable explanation, his imagination took over. He uses a comparison from his childhood explaining that when he asked his mom how thunder and lightning were made, she said that "clouds bumped into each other, producing a spark and noise"(Rothschild 82). Bertram then states, "How many more subtle explanations have I (or you) lived by, never noticing their absurdity?"(Rothschild 82). So, after a short period of almost believing in spirits, Bertram easily convinced himself otherwise.

While so far I've only read things about how ghosts are real, this is the first thing I've read from an opposing side. I am undecided on if ghosts are real or not to begin with, but I tend to sway a certain way depending on what I am reading or watching at that specific moment. When I first started reading this, I did not think it would be very helpful or persuading as to why ghosts are not real. However, after Rothschild describes his event, he explains why he believed it was a ghost very quickly and precisely. When he could not come up with an immediate answer, his mind began to think the worst. Is that not what we all have a tendency to do as human beings? If a loved one is late to an event and does not call, you automatically worry, thinking the worst. In the same way, Rothschild, who has never even considered ghosts to be real, suddenly began to second guess himself. I am not convinced that ghosts are not real by this article, however, Bertram provides a great explanation that I think, in his case, would actually not involve any ghosts.